<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>We All Must Live and Die by Tibtew</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25427302">We All Must Live and Die</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tibtew/pseuds/Tibtew'>Tibtew</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Kagerou Project, Mekakucity Actors</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>(SetoMarry that's why), Angst (?), Author Is Sleep Deprived, Author Isn't Proud, Bittersweet, Child character (mentioned), F/M, I Made Myself Cry (a little), I Tried, I love the novels, I love them so much, I tried so hard to not make this angst, I'm Bad At Everything, I'm Bad At Summaries, I'm Bad At Tagging, I'm Bad At Titles, I'm Sorry, Marry's on her deathbed, Memories, So much SetoMarry, birthday fic, especially the eighth one, everyone's dead (of old age), gee I wonder why, let them be happy, this is kind of rushed, this might be angst, vignettes (sort of)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-07-21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 05:55:35</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,369</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25427302</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tibtew/pseuds/Tibtew</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>At the end of her life, Marry Kozakura looks back on her memories with a smile.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Kozakura Mary/Seto Kousuke</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>10</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>We All Must Live and Die</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Marry Kozakura looked back over her memories and smiled.</p><p>If all was to disappear soon...then...<br/>
Then she would do her best to remember.</p><p>That time, when mom had read her to sleep...that time, when the soft chirping of birds filled her mornings...</p><p>(<i>The sunlight seeping through the windows seemed foreign, almost, though it made this trip every day.<br/>
A pale figure, set against aging wooden furniture, bathed in it, reading peacefully until a figure paler still emerged.<br/>
The newcomer rubbed her eyes, a soft shade of pink that contrasted harshly with her cream-coloured hair.<br/>
"Good...morning..." she muttered, then released a long, youthful yawn.<br/>
The first figure smiled, setting her book down.<br/>
"Good morning" she greeted, and her voice sounded brighter than the sun outside and sweeter than all birdsong combined, "Marry-"</i>)</p><p>Marry shook off the image of blood and continued smiling.<br/>
Perhaps not Mom, then; perhaps she had been too hasty in going back to her roots.<br/>
Perhaps Seto.<br/>
<i>Yes...Seto...</i></p><p>That time, when she and Seto first met...</p><p>(<i>"Ah, don't cry!" the boy had said, trying to calm the girl before him.<br/>
In response, she only drew away, covering her eyes through the tears.<br/>
"No..." he could make out between sobs, "d-don't look-"<br/>
"H-here, listen to this!"<br/>
On a whim, he grabbed one of his headphone's earbuds, placing it in her ear.<br/>
Abruptly, the girl's cries stopped.<br/>
The melody playing through the device was soft and soothing; that, coupled with the smile on the boy's face seemed to do the trick, and the expression of fear on her face was slowly replaced by one of curiosity.<br/>
"It's...it's good, right?" the boy eventually said.<br/>
"Here, take this too-"<br/>
The moment he wrapped his hoodie around her, the girl knew she would stay with him forever.</i>)</p><p>That time, when she joined the Mekakushi Dan...</p><p>(<i>"Hey, Marry..." Seto had said during one of his visits.<br/>
"Don't you get lonely here sometimes?"<br/>
"Eh? Lonely? But...that's why you come, right? So I won't..."<br/>
"Well, yeah." Seto had laughed and though it was a little awkward, she wanted him to laugh like that forever, "But, uh, when I'm not here. Don't you want to meet other people? I know some-"<br/>
"O-other people?"<br/>
"You don't have to!" he quickly said after seeing the panic on her face, "But wouldn't it be nice?"<br/>
Marry thought for a second, uncertain.<br/>
"Well, it sounds a little scary...but if Seto trusts them, then..."<br/>
He smiled at her again and Marry felt like she could meet a hundred people if it meant the smile on his face stayed.<br/>
"We'll take it slow, okay?"</i>)</p><p>That time, when they had celebrated her first birthday with them...</p><p>(<i>"How old are you, Marry?"<br/>
The question had been asked rather off-handedly, but it stopped the albino girl in her tracks.<br/>
"Uh...I don't know..."<br/>
The blond-haired boy, Kano, as Seto had introduced him, snickered.<br/>
"You don't know? What, do you not celebrate birthdays or something?"<br/>
"I didn't really count...and, uh...birthdays?"<br/>
"The day you were born." the green-haired girl, Kido, replied calmly.<br/>
"Oh! July 21st...I think..."<br/>
They'd exchanged glances then, with expressions Marry didn't quite understand.<br/>
When July 21st had eventually rolled around, they had given her gifts and taken great care in baking what they called a "cake" for her; it was soft and sweet, and Marry decided she'd want more of it.<br/>
"You'll be the same age as everyone else!" Kano said as the candles were lit.</i>)</p><p>And the second...</p><p>(<i>"Eh? You want to help me make your cake?"<br/>
Marry knew they had been trying to keep her birthday a surprise like last year, but she had something else in mind.<br/>
"Y-yeah! I was just thinking, if I learned how to bake something like that...I could make it for Seto's birthday, right?"<br/>
Kido hadn't laughed at her like she feared she would; instead, her expression remained serious - determined, almost.<br/>
"Alright...you can help."<br/>
The process itself had been somewhat disastrous: with little skill of her own, she could really only hinder any progress Kido tried to make<br/>
"Ah, Marry! That's not how you use a scale..."<br/>
Kido's voice trailed off as Marry unceremoniously dumped all of the flour onto the metal mechanism, face absent of any knowledge that she had done something wrong.<br/>
"You said to measure the flour using this, right?"<br/>
"That's not- nevermind..."<br/>
Kido shook her head defeatedly.<br/>
It was fun, despite all - and though she had cried at the time, Marry looked back on it fondly.</i>)</p><p>And the third...</p><p>(<i>"Hey, are you okay Marry?<br/>
He smiled at her, but she had said nothing.<br/>
There was no need to say anything.<br/>
As long as Seto kept smiling like that, she would have all the happiness she needed.<br/>
"I'm...I'm just so happy..."<br/>
She <b>was</b> happy - happy that they cared about her so much; happy that they were still alive; happy that <b>he</b> was still alive.<br/>
"It's your birthday...so don't cry, alright?"<br/>
"Ah...I'm not...I'm not crying..." she mumbled, ignoring the wetness of her cheeks.<br/>
She felt numb.</i>)</p><p>Marry felt the tears in her eyes begin to well, and she pushed them down with as much force as she could muster.<br/>
No.<br/>
Seto wouldn't want her to cry, not now.<br/>
Not when they had come so far.<br/>
He'd probably laugh and say,<br/>
<i>"Hey, don't be so sad...<br/>
We'll meet again soon, won't we?"</i></p><p>She wondered where Shion was now.<br/>
She'd said her goodbyes to her daughter already, but it was hard not to agonize over it.<br/>
Was she worried about her? Thinking of her?<br/>
Or too caught up in her own existence, with her own children to take care of, to think of such things?<br/>
<i><s>(If only Seto could see their child now...)</s></i></p><p>Marry shook off her maternal worries and continued remembering.<br/>
That time, when they finally got their happy ending...</p><p>(<i>The summer sun above blinded her.<br/>
Marry was happy now, happier than ever before, happier than she'd ever been.<br/>
All her friends - well, almost all: she still wasn't quite sure what had happened to Konoha - had made it out safe and unharmed and alive.<br/>
At last, they could look towards the future together.</i></p><p><i>"Hey, Seto..." she'd said rather suddenly back at the base, "you like me, don't you?"<br/>
He'd stuttered then, face immediately red with embarrassment, "W-what? I mean, I-I..."<br/>
"Well...I was just thinking...<br/>
You've always been here for me, Seto...and I...I..."<br/>
She couldn't bear to look at his face any longer so she hugged him instead, burying her burning face into his chest.<br/>
"I want to stay by your side, Seto...forever..." she mumbled, so quietly that she doubt he'd heard her.<br/>
He held her tightly, and Marry listened to the rhythmic sounds of his heartbeat - a sound she didn't think she'd ever get tired of.<br/>
"Me too, Marry...me too...</i>)</p><p>Forever hadn't lasted, of course, but Marry didn't mind.<br/>
She remembered little things - a kiss, a wedding, a child - and all throughout, the support and encouragement of all their friends.<br/>
To her, it had barely been any time at all; that didn't stop her from cherishing every second, though.<br/>
Had she been younger, weaker, perhaps, she'd wish for a time everyone was still here - but that Marry had grown, learning that she need not fear the future.<br/>
<i>Well, she hoped she'd grown at least.</i></p><p>That isn't to say there weren't some things she still regretted, of course.<br/>
She'd never opened up about how past timelines haunted her; after she had remembered everything, all the times they had died came back to her too - naturally, that had been the source of a few nightmares, but Marry didn't let anyone know it bothered her.<br/>
She thought Seto understood without a need for words, anyways, with the way he would hold her close all the time, as if reminding her that he was still alive.</p><p><i>Ah...it's almost time...</i><br/>
The darkness that had been growing around her was definitely going to take her now.<br/>
Marry wasn't sure what awaited her on the other side, wasn't sure if there was anything waiting at all.</p><p>Whatever it was, she was sure she'd never let the image of Seto's smile go.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p><s>It's still the 21st here so I'm allowed to post this</s><br/>I'm not very proud of this fic, but oh well...<br/>I was kind of forcing myself to write this (since school just let out, and I have to do <i>something</i> before drowning myself in revision), so sorry if it's utter shit, Marry deserves better.<br/>If anyone's wondering, the title is taken from the song "Bird of Time" from the game Shogun II.<br/>I don't see this song get enough attention, and it's really fucking good.<br/>Go listen to it (or don't, I'm not your mom).<br/>Happy birthday Marry! Let's hope something good actually happens this August 15th.</p></blockquote></div></div>
</body>
</html>